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Giants top prospect Angel Villalona has been detained in connection with a murder that occurred in the Dominican Republic on Saturday night, according to a report by the Associated Press.

A police spokesman in La Romana, in the east region of the Dominican Republic, told the AP that Villalona, 19, is the prime suspect in the shooting death of 25-year-old Mario Felix de Jesus Velete.

"The incident occurred Saturday at around 11 at night, and the main suspect is Angel Villalona", said Adrian Urbaez of the Dominican National Police.

Villalona turned himself in to local authorities on Sunday afternoon.

"We know there was an incident and that there is one person dead, but we don't have the details of the case", said Frank Micheli, president of the Azucareros del Este team in the Dominican Winter League. Villalona is affiliated with the Azucareros for winter baseball.

According to the AP, Villalona will appear in court Monday and could face up to 20 years in prison if found guilty.

Villalona, ranked No. 48 in MLB.com's preseason Top 50 Prospects list, made headlines in 2006 after receiving a $2.1 million signing bonus with the Giants as a 16-year-old. He hit .267 with nine home runs and 42 RBIs in 74 games with the San Jose Giants at the Class A Advanced level in 2009 before being shut down in early July with a quadriceps injury.

Re: Giants teen prospect Villalona suspected of murder

I had just included him in a fantasy trade I made last month. I guess I sold high on that one.

Wow. That's not something you hear every day.

"No matter how good you are, you're going to lose one-third of your games. No matter how bad you are you're going to win one-third of your games. It's the other third that makes the difference." ~Tommy Lasorda

Re: Giants teen prospect Villalona suspected of murder

He could always turn to fellow Giant Juan Uribe for advice. I'm pretty sure the exact same thing happened to him.

"Since I've been with the Reds in 1989, we've never had a farm system this loaded," Bowden said. "If we were the New York Yankees and had unlimited dollars, we could have traded for Colon, (Jeff) Weaver, Rolen, (Cliff) Floyd, (Kenny) Rogers and Finley and gotten them all -- and still held onto our top five prospects. That's an amazing statement."

Re: Giants teen prospect Villalona suspected of murder

I'd guess if you have a couple million and you're out and about in the Dominican that you'd better be ready to defend yourself....not that I know anything about the details obviously...I'm just saying I'm willing to wait on the details of this one

Re: Giants teen prospect Villalona suspected of murder

UP to 20 years? for murder? I guess if you need to kill someone, you should send them on an all expense paid trip to the Dominican first and knock them off while they're there.

There is a large portion of the world that actually does not agree with our standards of punishment and such.

"No matter how good you are, you're going to lose one-third of your games. No matter how bad you are you're going to win one-third of your games. It's the other third that makes the difference." ~Tommy Lasorda

Re: Giants teen prospect Villalona suspected of murder

(09-21) 19:19 PDT SAN JOSE -- Those who know Angel Villalona are stunned that the young San Francisco Giants minor league prospect - who they say is afraid of dogs and even carnival rides - has been charged with murdering a man in a bar in his native Dominican Republic.

Villalona, 19, wore a bullet-proof vest Monday as he pleaded not guilty in a courtroom in La Romana, Dominican Republic, to murdering the 25-year-old man Saturday night. A judge ordered him jailed for two months while he awaits a trial where, if convicted, he could be sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Villalona, a first baseman with what scouts have described as enormous power potential, won a signing bonus of $2.1 million from the Giants in 2006, just four days after his 16th birthday. It was the most the team had ever paid for an amateur.

He played this year with the team's minor league affiliate in San Jose, hitting .267 with nine home runs in 74 games before a leg injury ended his season.

According to Adelaida Hernandez, a veteran sports reporter in Dominican, Villalona went to a bar in La Ramona over the weekend and headed for his usual VIP seat. A man named Mario Felix de Jesus Velete was in his seat and wouldn't give it up.

Then, police say, Villalona shot him.

"He's not supposed to have a gun - he's not even supposed to drink," Hernandez said. "But you know what - when people have a lot of money, things happen."

Those who know Villalona, however, say the account doesn't ring true.

"That doesn't sound like him at all," said Jack Hiatt, the team's former director of player development. "He's a great kid and borders on extreme quiet. I've never seen him get angry. He might get mad at himself for striking out, but that's it."

For three months until early July, when he tore a quadricep muscle and went to rehabilitate in Arizona, Villalona lived with Ed and Donna Musgrave of San Jose, a retired couple who have housed a number of minor league players from the Dominican. Donna Musgrave said Villalona became like a son to the couple.

"I was just shocked - dumbfounded," she said, calling him a very nice person with a mirthful sense of humor.

Although too shy to speak much English, Villalona would make Musgrave and her family laugh by donning funny glasses and costume wigs he found around their house.

"He was a sweetheart," Musgrave said.

Villalona played basketball with the Musgraves' 12-year-old grandson and joined the family and the other minor-league players on outings to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk - but stopped short of trying out any of the rides.

Re: Giants teen prospect Villalona suspected of murder

Originally Posted by dougdirt

He shot someone for not giving up a seat? Something sounds incredibly fishy with that one.

I was skeptical to begin with. But yeah that was a little far-fetched.

"No matter how good you are, you're going to lose one-third of your games. No matter how bad you are you're going to win one-third of your games. It's the other third that makes the difference." ~Tommy Lasorda

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